Worth going ltd?

[leeperry]

Hi all,

I have a rolling contract at the mo, hopefully for a while. It falls within IR35 as I work at their offices, got no other regular clients etc.

At the moment I am going through an umbrella, is it worth my while setting up an ltd?. I can leave funds in the ltd.

[cojak]

With a lot of posts saying "Help! I haven't been paid by XXX Umbrella Ltd for 2 months!!!" lately, I would say yes, it is...

[PAH]

It falls within IR35 as I work at their offices, got no other regular clients etc.

I recommend you get your contract verified as being inside IR35 if you haven't already done so, it's such a big grey area. You could be volunteering to pay more tax than you need to, and HMRC certainly won't be interested in giving it you back later!


As for ltd, lots of plus/minus over a brolly. Do some searching on this site and you'll get lots of info. Only you can decide which is best for you so get clued up and the decision is more likely to be the right one!

The biggest plus for me at the moment of being ltd is it removes one of the third party risks, such as the brolly going bust with your money. [exclamation mark intentionally missing from this paragraph as it has such a downbeat ending]

[BolshieBastard]

Hi all,

I have a rolling contract at the mo, hopefully for a while. It falls within IR35 as I work at their offices, got no other regular clients etc.

At the moment I am going through an umbrella, is it worth my while setting up an ltd?. I can leave funds in the ltd.

Just because you work on site and have no other clients does not mean your contract is within IR35. only a Special Tax Commissioner can decide this question (as you'd surely appeal any decision you were caught).

Personally, I wouldnt touch a brolly so yes, go limited.

[leeperry]

I've been with the brolly for a while now, one of the better known ones. Not worried about them going bust

My question is ,ore at what point financially it makes sense to go down the ltd route.

[lje]

It doesn't make a lot of difference financially if you are inside IR35. You would save the umbrella fee but you would probably want to have an accountant so you'd have to consider their fee. I believe you can keep 5% of your gross income towards company expenses (such as accountancy), then you would take off your expenses (such as travelling) and then everything else would need to go through PAYE (remembering the employer's NI).

Going Ltd gives you more control and is far better if you are outside IR35. But if you're inside then there's not much financial difference and you'll have the hassle of running your own company. I think it just comes down to personal preference at that point.

[TheFaQQer]

Disadvantages of Ltd

• Hassle of running your own company
• Accountancy fees
• If you want to, additional costs of IR35 insurance

Advantages of Ltd

• No third party to disappear with the money
• If inside IR35, 5% expenses
• No umbrella fee
• Can potentially make money on VAT

As others have said, I'd query whether the contract and working practices really are inside IR35 - by the sounds of it, it's too late now anyway, though. I'd be limited.

[PAH]

[*]No third party to disappear with the money

Less third parties to disappear with the money.

If the umbrella doesn't go bust the agency might.

AFAIK the safest way to reduce the risk is to contract direct with the client via your own limited company. If only it was always possible and worth doing.